Health officials say the Ohio outbreak that helped push the number of U.S. measles cases to a two-decade high appears to have ended.

The state logged 377 cases of the highly contagious viral respiratory illness in nine counties since March. Nine people were hospitalized.

The end of such an outbreak is measured 42 days after the onset of the most recent case, a window based on two, 21-day incubation periods. Ohio has passed that mark because the most recent onset date was July 23.

The outbreak started among Amish in Knox County who traveled to the Philippines, which had a measles epidemic.

Meanwhile, Ohio is tracking a separate outbreak of mumps, another contagious viral illness. Over half of the 483 cases reported are linked to Ohio State University.

An appeals court has overturned hate-crime convictions of 16 Amish men and women found guilty in beard- and hair-cutting attacks on fellow members of their faith in Ohio.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati on Wednesday sided with arguments brought by attorneys for the Amish, found guilty two years ago in five attacks in Ohio Amish communities in 2011. The attacks were in apparent retaliation against Amish who had defied or denounced the authoritarian style of leader Sam Mullet Sr.

Mullet was of accused orchestrating the cuttings in an attempt to shame mainstream members who he believed were straying from their beliefs.

Prosecutors called the attacks hate crimes because religious differences brought about the attacks.

The defense had said there was insufficient evidence linking Mullet to the hair-cutting.

The Ohio Department of Health is urging parents to make sure children are up-to-date on vaccinations to protect them and their classmates as they begin a new school year.

The department says children who aren’t vaccinated have a higher risk of contracting and spreading illnesses such as measles and mumps. Ohio has dealt with outbreaks of both of those diseases this year.

The mumps outbreak in central Ohio stood at 479 cases as of this week, with just over half of those cases linked to Ohio State University.

Separately, the state says 377 cases of measles have been linked to an outbreak that began in Knox County. It started with Amish people who had traveled to the Philippines, which has had a measles epidemic.

In a handful of counties northeast of Columbus public health officials are traveling back roads and setting up clinics in churches and town halls. Theyâ€™re trying to contain a measles outbreak among the mostly unvaccinated Amish community.

In a handful of counties northeast of Columbus public health officials are traveling back roads and setting up clinics in churches and town halls. Theyâ€™re trying to contain a measles outbreak among the mostly unvaccinated Amish community.

Amish country

The Knox County village of Danville calls itself “the gateway to Amish country.” Itâ€™s here that the county health department has set up a makeshift clinic. On a recent Thursday afternoon dozens of families come in to be vaccinated against measles.

Traditionally, the Amish avoid vaccinations. But now they see the toll that measles is taking on their tight-knit communities. Knox County Health spokeswoman Pam Palm says fear of measles brings more than a hundred people to the afternoon clinic.

â€œA lot of them donâ€™t get immunized because of their holistic way of living but theyâ€™re seeing the numbers of people who are getting sick and they are seeing how sick they are getting so they are coming in to get immunized,â€ Palm says.

The mobile clinics are critical to widespread vaccinations. Nurse Jacqueline Fletcher says the clinics make for shorter and safer travel on narrow county roads.

â€œDue to the outbreak and the fact that the Amish normally travel by buggy itâ€™s far easier for us to bring the vaccine out to them than have them travel in to us,â€ says Fletcher.

â€œAs soon as we saw these folks, they were just covered in a measles rash. They were sitting in a darkened room because it affects your eyes; your eyes feel very gritty and red and bothered by the light so they tend to sit in the dark. They have high temperatures: 102, 103, weâ€™ve seen them as high as 104.5; aches and pains,â€ Fletcher says.

How is started

The outbreak began in late March after several Amish men returned from a trip overseas. They had gone to the Philippines â€“ unvaccinated â€“ to do disaster relief work. Once back in Ohio, the first cases arose. State epidemiologist Mary DiOrio says the Ohio Department of Health is supplying vaccine to affected counties in hopes of controlling the spread of the highly contagious disease.

â€œWeâ€™re working with them to make sure they get the vaccine that they need to run these clinics,â€ DiOrio says. â€œSo itâ€™s a lot of work that the local health departments have to do and weâ€™re providing support to them as we can.â€

More than 8,000 people have been vaccinated at the clinics, a sign that attitudes among the Amish are changing. Aden Weaver is an Amish father of 12 who believes taking the vaccine is worthwhile.

â€œWell I just think that it helps everybody to stay away from getting sick. Thatâ€™s the way I feel about it. I think it would be beneficial to everybody if everybody would do it, really,â€ Weaver says.

â€œWeâ€™re trying to contain this outbreak. The idea is to get ahead of this disease get it confined and keep it confined. So far we have kept it confined to the Amish community,â€ Fletcher says.

Knox County has the most confirmed cases of measles which account for more than half of all the cases in Ohio. Four surrounding counties also report large outbreaks. Health officials are uncertain whether theyâ€™ve contained the disease.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2014/06/16/widespread-measles-outbreak-ohios-amish-community-1/feed/1Aden Weaver,Amish,Danville Ohio,DiOrio,Jacqueline Fletcher,knox county,measles,Pam PalmIn a handful of counties northeast of Columbus public health officials are traveling back roads and setting up clinics in churches and town halls. Theyâ€™re trying to contain a measles outbreak among the mostly unvaccinated Amish community.In a handful of counties northeast of Columbus public health officials are traveling back roads and setting up clinics in churches and town halls. Theyâ€™re trying to contain a measles outbreak among the mostly unvaccinated Amish community.WOSU Newsno4:03Ohio Confirms 83 Measles Cases Over 6 Countieshttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2014/05/17/ohio-confirms-83-measles-cases-over-6-counties/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2014/05/17/ohio-confirms-83-measles-cases-over-6-counties/#commentsSat, 17 May 2014 10:48:45 +0000The Associated Presshttp://wosu.org/2012/news/?p=70811

Health officials say 83 cases of measles have been confirmed in an Ohio outbreak that began among Amish who had traveled to the Philippines, which has had an epidemic.

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (AP) – Health officials say 83 cases of measles have been confirmed in an Ohio outbreak that began among Amish who had traveled to the Philippines, which has had an epidemic.

The state Department of Health reports cases of the highly contagious respiratory illness in six Ohio counties. Knox County has the most with 52, four of whom were hospitalized. Neighboring Ashland County has 14 cases, with one hospitalization. There are eight cases in Holmes County, six in Coshocton County, two in Wayne County and one in Richland County.

Officials are urging vaccination to limit the spread of measles and of mumps, which has caused a separate outbreak in central Ohio.

Measles is caused by a virus. Symptoms include fevers, coughs, rashes and pink eye.

A relative said an Ohio Amish girl diagnosed with leukemia continues natural treatments while hiding with her parents amid a legal case over whether she’ll be forced to continue chemotherapy.

Doctors fought the family’s decision to end chemotherapy, saying Sarah Hershberger would die without it.

Her grandfather said Sarah recently celebrated her 11th birthday and seems vibrant and healthy. Isaac Keim said blood and imaging tests showed the cancer is gone.

The family’s attorney said they fled home in northeast Ohio’s Medina County, leaving the country at one point to avoid having to resume chemotherapy treatments. A state appeals court has appointed a guardian to take over Sarah’s medical decisions.

The Ohio Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is angry that animal cruelty charges have been dropped against an Amish dog breeder.

The group had pushed for charges against Jonas Beachy after 52 dogs were removed from his central Ohio farm last fall. Many of them had dental disease, feces-smeared coats and paws mangled by wire mesh cages.

Circleville Law Director Gary Kenworthy dismissed the charges against Beachy on Monday because of problems securing the records of veterinarians scattered across Ohio who treated Beachy’s dogs.

The 58-year-old Laurelville-area man agreed not to raise dogs for sale over the next year unless supervised by a veterinarian.

Beachy’s attorney, James Kingsley of Circleville, accused the animal activists of mounting a “crusade against Amish breeders.”